- Saint Petroc
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Petrock redirects here. You may be looking forPet Rock , or the 7th century Dumnonian kingPetroc Baladrddellt ."Saint Petroc (sometimes spelled Petrock in English, Pedrog in Welsh and Perreux in French) (d. 564) is a 6th century Celtic Christian
saint . He was born inWales but primarily ministered to the Britons ofDumnonia which included the modern counties ofDevon (Dewnans),Cornwall (Kernow), and parts ofSomerset (Gwlas an Hav) andDorset . He is also known to have ministered to the people ofBrittany .Early life
Old Welsh genealogies record that he was a younger son of KingGlywys of Glywysing (now Glamorgan) and a brother ofGwynllyw , and there are local dedications to him atSt Petrox near Pembroke andFerwig near Cardigan. He has also given his name toLlanbedrog , a village on theLleyn peninsula . He studied inIreland where he is said to have been the teacher of Saint Kevin.Travels
After studying, he began his mission to Cornwall, where he founded monasteries at
Padstow andBodmin . Padstow, which is named after him (Pedroc-stowe, or 'Petrock's Place'), appears to have been his base for some time. There are numerous other dedications to him throughout Cornwall and he is even said to have converted its king, Constantine of Dumnonia, to Christianity. After thirty years, legend says that he went on the pilgrimage toRome by way ofBrittany .Upon his return, Petroc passed through Devon, where ancient dedications to him are even more numerous: a probable seventeen (plus
Timberscombe just over the border in Somerset), compared to Cornwall's five. The position of churches bearing his name, nearly always near the coast, reminds us that in those days travelling was done mainly by sea. The North Devon towns ofPetrockstowe andNewton St Petroc are also named after Saint Petroc and theflag of Devon is dedicated to him.The legendary tales surrounding Petroc are exceptionally vivid and imaginative (giving him a second
pilgrimage , travels toIndia , taming wolves) and may represent interpolation from pagan tales.Veneration
In
iconography , Petroc is usually shown with a stag. Hisfeast day isJune 4 . His majorshrine was always atSt Petroc's Church ,Bodmin . In 1177, a Breton stole his relics from Bodmin and gave them to theAbbey of St Meen . However, Henry II restored them and, though the relics were thrown out during theEnglish Reformation , their beautiful ivory casket is still on public display in the church. WithSaint Piran and Saint Michael, he is one of thepatron saint s ofCornwall - Piran is currently favourite.References
*cite book|last=Orme|first=Nicholas|authorlink =Nicholas Orme
title=English Church Dedications, with a Survey of Cornwall and Devon|year=1996|publisher=University of Exeter Press|location=Exeter|id=ISBN 0-85989-516-5External links
* [http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/pedrogg.html Early British Kingdoms: St. Petroc]
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